Molecular Interactions Between Biopesticides, Plant Volatiles, Essential Oils, and Target Organisms

Advancing agricultural technology requires innovative, eco-friendly strategies to protect crops from pests, diseases, and weeds while minimizing environmental impact. Plant metabolites, including secondary compounds and essential oils, have emerged as promising natural alternatives to synthetic pesticides and herbicides. These bioactive compounds exhibit diverse pesticidal and herbicidal properties, offering sustainable solutions for integrated pest and weed management.

Plant-derived biopesticides and bioherbicides can target a wide range of agricultural threats, including insect pests, fungal and bacterial pathogens, and invasive weeds. Essential oils, in particular, possess antimicrobial, insecticidal, and allelopathic properties, making them valuable tools for sustainable crop protection. Despite their potential, challenges remain in optimizing their application, stability, and efficacy in large-scale agricultural systems.

This Research Topic aims to advance knowledge on the role of plant metabolites and essential oils in sustainable pest and weed management, with a focus on their biochemical properties, mechanisms of action, formulation technologies, and practical applications in modern agriculture.

We welcome contributions from both fundamental and applied research, including but not limited to:

- Identification, extraction, and characterization of plant metabolites and essential oils with biopesticidal and bioherbicidal properties
- Mechanisms of action against insect pests, pathogens, and weeds
- Advances in formulation, delivery methods, and field application of plant-based biopesticides and bioherbicides
- Synergistic effects of plant metabolites and essential oils in integrated pest and weed management
- Case studies on the efficacy of plant-derived biopesticides and bioherbicides in agricultural settings
- Challenges and opportunities in scaling up the use of plant-based solutions for sustainable crop protection

This Research Topic invites original research articles, reviews, and short communications that contribute to the development and application of plant-based biopesticides and bioherbicides, bridging the gap between fundamental research and practical implementation in sustainable agriculture.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review

Keywords: plant volatiles, phytopathogen control, plant-microbe interactions, agricultural biotechnology, volatilomics

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.